Break in at Aquarius Sailing Club

Break In At Aquarius Sailing Club

It was early afternoon on Tuesday 30 September when I got a call from Richard Cannon. He had just been talking to Bryan Clements, who had returned to the club, having played golf on Monday, to find it had been broken into.

Richard's car had a flat battery and having phoned the Police he was anxious that somebody should go to the club to open the gates and see them in.

I arrived twenty minutes later and Bryan showed me what he'd found. Part of the Bosun store wall, adjacent to the door, had been ripped off, presumably to get at tools that could be used. The clubs back door had been forced open. An attempt to get into the store room had failed. The bar door was forced, ripping the locks out. The till and safe had been emptied and drink and chocolate bars stolen. The telephone in the foyer had been smashed of the wall and a garbage sack upended on the floor.

Half an hour later Richard arrived with Nigel. Twenty minutes after that the Police arrived and went through the place with Nigel. They concluded it was an amateur job, probably kids looking for drug money. They said they would send a crime scene investigation unit because there was a good chance they could get some finger prints. Until then we were asked to leave things just as they were.

Nigel put together a shopping list of items so we could begin the repair work as soon as the Police were finished. The finger print police women visited on Wednesday and Bodgit & Son started work on Thursday.

First priorities were the bar and back doors and the Bosun's hut which needed a whole new wall to the left of the door. As of now, 3 October, work is ongoing to ensure the PIR activated lighting works efficiently and to install an enhanced alarm system. This is essential because in the Police view there's a good chance that at some time or another they will be back.

Mike (Over Easy) Baker